In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three days of national mourning began on Saturday after the alleged massacre of civilians in the east of the country, for which the government now conjures up a tally of “more than a hundred” dead.
The DRC army and authorities on Thursday accused M23 rebels of “cowardly murders” of at least 50 civilians two days earlier in Kishishe, a village in Rutshuru territory some 70 km north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province ” to have.
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The M23 has denied authorship of the killing, the number of which is difficult to ascertain from an independent source due to lack of access to this rebel-held area.
During the Council of Ministers held on Friday, “the President of the Republic condemned in the strongest possible terms the massacre of more than a hundred compatriots in Kishishe, victims of the barbarism” of the M23, according to the report read out in the evening by Communications Minister and government spokesman Patrick Muyaya.
“In her memory,” said President Félix Tshisekedi, “he instructed the government, starting this Saturday, the 3 area at this time.
The mourning will end on Monday with the organization of a “telethon” to raise funds for “the humanitarian aid” for victims of the violence in the east of the country, the spokesman added.
Since news of the massacre broke, calls for an independent investigation have grown louder.
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During the same Council of Ministers, the President “urged the Minister of Justice to launch an immediate investigation at the internal level and at the same time to promote an international inquiry to shed light on this war crime,” the spokesman said.
The M23, a former Tutsi rebellion defeated in 2013, took up arms again late last year. Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of supporting it, arming it and even fighting alongside it, which Kigali denies.
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